The cult comedy troupe members John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones, now aged in their 70s, have said their London shows this month will probably mark their last performances together.

Last night they delighted fans with classic comedy set pieces including the fish slapping sketch and the Lumberjack song at the show, which finished with a singalong version of Always Look On The Bright Side of Life.

Thousands of fans also cheered on a spoof 'Spam Lake' ballet while other sketches included Idle and Palin as lingerie-wearing judges and Idle and Jones performing the "nudge, nudge, wink, wink" routine which inspired a song and dance number.

The Pythons had promised to revisit 'the classics' at the shows Credit: Press Association

Several celebrity fans made cameos, including Stephen Fry, who appeared in a sketch about a game show host blackmailing misbehaving celebrities.

Professor Brian Cox and Stephen Hawking also appeared on film after a performance of The Galaxy Song.

But some of the biggest cheers of the night were reserved for archive clips showing the sixth Python Graham Chapman, who died from cancer in 1989 at age 48.

The original line-up including Graham Chapman (2nd from right) in 1985 Credit: Press Association

The Pythons, who have been open about the financial reasons for the reunion, had two giant "merch-o-meters" at the side of the stage measuring sales of T-shirts, posters and other items during the interval.

Audience members that it was worth every penny to have caught a rare performance from the group in what was one of the hottest tickets of the summer.

Sally Baxter, from Swindon, said: "I saw them on TV when they started out so this was a little bit of my youth up on stage."

The troupe's final show on 20 July will be recorded and broadcast in cinemas around the world.